


One Wrong Step

by Toaverse



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Anxiety, Barley Lightfoot Needs a Hug, Character Death, Crying, Death, Falling to death, Gen, Self-Blame, falling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23825662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toaverse/pseuds/Toaverse
Summary: With each new step he took on the “bridge”, Ian’s confidence grew and grew, even if the rope loosened from his waist without his knowledge.But the last step would really be the last step Ian would ever take.(An AU where Ian falls to his death after almost reaching the other side of the bottomless pit)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	One Wrong Step

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by Theangstking! :D
> 
> More angst for you guys to read! >:D
> 
> Enjoy!

Ian looks down at the darkness of the bottomless pit, having a glowing staff in his hands, and feeling anxiety take over him.

‘I can’t do this...’ was the thought that repeats in his head the longer he stares in the depth of the pit.

“Hey...” Ian hears his brother say to him. He turns to Barley, still feeling doubt and anxiety in his gut. Barley stands there, his expression full of confidence in his younger brother, just like the words he’s saying. “You can do this.”

That sentence took some of the anxious feelings Ian feels away, just enough to at least try. The 16 year old turns his full attention back to the “bridge”, and focuses.

He closes his eyes, fully believing that the bridge is there, and took a step forwards.

And just as he believes, his foot lands on the “bridge”.

Ian opens his eyes to see that he didn’t fall, or leap in the pit. Instead, his foot had landed on a blue magic blob that holds his weight.

The younger brother let out a laugh of relief and joy as he sees it.

“Ha ha! There you go!” Barley cheers as he holds the robe that prevents Ian from falling.

The 16 year old takes another unsure, and unbelieved step. But this time, he doesn’t feel the surface of the “bridge”, stepping through air. As Ian was about to fall, Barley holds the robe tightly and gave a strong pull, preventing his little brother to end up in the pit.

“Believe with every step!” Barley calls out.

Listening to his brother’s words, Ian pushes the shock and fear away, and believes the the bridge is there again. He takes the second step, which a blue blob appears again.

And it happens when he took another step.

And then another.

And another.

The anxiety Ian felt slowly went away with each step he took.

Despite hearing Barley cheer again, the younger Lightfoot’s focus is entirely on the bridge, and the bridge only.

“You still got me, right?” Ian asks, not taking his eyes off of his feet.

“I still got you!” Barley calls out. “Wooohooo! Ian Lightfoot is fearless!” He cheers out of pride for his younger brother.

That pride was soon replaced with fear as Barley sees the robe untie itself from Ian’s middle. The older brother let out a gasp as he sees this.

“This is amazing!” Ian beams as he continues walking, not even feeling the robe loosen.

The robe eventually hit the edge of the cliff on Barley’s side, and that’s when panic builds up in him.

“Yeah, but just keep going! Don’t look back, just straight ahead!” The 19 year old calls out, hoping with all his heart that Ian doesn’t do that when he’s walking right in the middle of the pit.

The 16 year old let out a laugh of joy, as he continues to walk on the “bridge”.

“You still got the robe, right?” He asks again.

“Yeah, I still got it!” It honestly hurts Barley that he has to lie to his younger brother like this, but if he gets safely to the other side, it was damn worth it. ‘Please, don’t look behind you. Please, don’t look behind you.’ Was all that Barley could think about.

Ian continues walking with confidence across the bottomless pit, step by step, while once asking every few steps if Barley still has the robe.

Meanwhile, Barley’s gut is full of anxiety and fear, desperately hoping that Ian doesn’t turn his head to him. Tears of fear even burned in Barley’s eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. The younger elf has gotten so far, he can’t lose his confidence now.

And before Barley knew it, Ian was nearly at the end, only having to take one step.

“This one is for you!” Ian calls out, as he turns around to look at his brother.

But the only thing Ian saw was Barley holding the whole robe that untied itself from his waist.

All confidence was sucked out of him as he saw it, having his leg already reach out for the last step. Ian expected to feel the surface of the “bridge” again, but his foot fell through the air instead.

Being overtaken by shock and fear, Ian quickly grabs the edge with one hand, his staff in the other. 

But just as quickly as when he grabs the edge, it breaks from its structure...

The young wizard only sees darkness around him, as he feels himself fall deeper and deeper into the bottomless pit.

The last thing Ian hears was his brother calling out his name.

“NO!” Barley yells, seeing the whole scene escalate, without being able to do anything to prevent it. “IAN!”

Then there was silence...

A horrible silence...

The 19 year old let himself fall to his knees, staring in the darkness of the pit where his younger brother had just fallen, processing what had just happened.

‘No...’ Barley starts to tremble, feeling a huge lump in his throat, as well as tears forming in his eyes again. “No no no no no...’ 

His breathing started to become irregular, eventually turning into hyperventilation.

‘It’s my fault...’ Barley thought, as the fact that Ian has, or will fall to his death hit him, tears streaming down his face. ‘It’s all my fault...”

There where so many things Barley wants to do at this moment. He wants to hug his baby brother, and never let go, he wants to jump right after Ian to somehow save him, he wants to go home, forget this whole quest ever happend, and spend the rest of their time with dad there.

That really makes Barley regret this whole quest...

If only they had stayed at home, and just accepted that only their dad’s lower half is back.

But most importantly, how in this realm is he going to explain this to his mother?

The question made Barley choked up, and let out a broken sob. She will kill him if he tells her that Ian had died during their adventure. She’ll most likely kick him out, wanting nothing to do with him...

But the worst part in all of this, is that Barley just lost his baby brother...

‘I lost him...’ was repeating in his mind, over and over and over again. ‘I lost him...’

That thought broke him, as he let himself wep over the fact that his baby brother, who Barley had promised he would and will protect him from anything and everything, had just died...

And he’s never coming back...


End file.
